April 12, 2010

LTEF GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

April 12, 2010

 

 

Attendees

Jessica Avallone

Debbie Goodsite

Anne Mankiewich

John Roncoroni

Mike Walsh

George Wilhelms

 

•I.                   Treasurer’s Report - George Wilhelms

  • Four pages of financial reports were distributed. The first page is the Statement of Financial Position as of April 12, which indicates we have a little over $10K in General Funds after deducting the money for the Doran Family, and the payment to be made to Diane Sinclair for the art classes.
  • Page 2 reflects activity since our last meeting. It shows we received $330 in payment for the art classes and $800 for the Doran Family. $793.68 was deposited into the Teacher Grant account, and $2,500 was paid out from that account.
  • Page 3 is the Statement of Financial Income & Expense year-to-date. It shows a $43,514 playground expense, which is primarily the payment made to Barkman. In addition, it shows we took in a total of $975 in Teacher Grant donations. We applied an additional $693.68 to Teacher Grants; these funds came from a clothing drive and residual grant money from last year. The LTEF contributed the remaining $855.67 to fulfill all the outstanding grant requests, which was paid out as reflected by the $2,500 Teacher Grant expense. Mike commented that the LTEF covered only about 40% of the total grant money, which is an improvement over last year when we subsidized approximately 75-80%.
  • The final page of the financial reports shows all the transactions for the month, including all deposits and outgoing checks.

 

 

•II.                 Playground - Mike Walsh

  • The sidewalk has been installed, and the playground is in use.
  • We thought we would have to organize a clean-up, but Barkman already cleaned up the area. Jessica reported that Barkman will be putting in grass very soon.
  • Mike will be talking to Judy Burd about a dedication; we would like to coordinate with the Bd. Of Ed. on the event, and use it as an opportunity to recognize outstanding volunteer efforts.
  • A photo of the playground was on the front page of the Observer this week.

 

 

•III.              Blues Fest - Mike Walsh

  • Jessica and Noreen are coordinating volunteers. Jessica reported that we have 30 out of the 55 volunteers we will need. We are expecting to get a group of high school kids to help out, and we anticipate more people will step forward as the date approaches.
  • The Blues Fest expenses will run around $40K. $6K of that is for beer and wine, the cost of which will be offset by sales. Our goal is to cover as much of the remaining $34K as possible with sponsorship money, so that ticket sales will be profit. So far we have Bourbon Street at $10K, PNC and Custom Alloy at $3K each, and Unity Bank at $2,400. Mike distributed the sponsorship letter and asked for our help in securing additional sponsors.
  • Mike is working with radio stations to secure promotions in exchange for free tickets. WNTI Radio from Centenary College will be broadcasting from the fest.
  • Ticket sales should be available on the web-site later this week.

 

•IV.              Education Program - Debbie Goodsite

  • Eight people have signed up for Diane Sinclair’s water-color classes; half are adults, half children. No one has signed up for the puppet-making classes.
  • Debbie suggested we use the open-house at Valley View this Thursday as a forum for offering a discount to anyone wanting to sign up for the remaining 5 out of 6 puppet classes.
  • Debbie would also like to put out a survey to find out what kinds of classes/programs people are interested in. Mike said that if the survey is ready in time, he will give copies to Collette to be distributed at the bake-sale table at Valley View on Thursday. We will also plan to have copies of the art class flyer on hand Thursday, in case we get any takers for the discounted puppet-making classes.
  • Debbie would like to come up with ideas for the next set of classes by June, so that we can get approval to proceed by the fall.
  • She will plan on putting a blurb in the township newsletter, which has a deadline of August 1 for the September issue. We can also advertise in August using our e-mail database.
  • Debbie also commented that she would like to have a co-chair for the Education Program. Noreen had volunteered to help, but she may be too busy to dedicate significant time to the program over the long-term.

 

 

•V.                Newsletter - George Wilhelms

  • George distributed a Newsletter Task List/Timeline.
  • If our goal is to get the newsletter mailed out by October, we should be finalizing our content list by our next meeting. Articles should be completed by June, Jen Housedorf will be formatting the newsletter in July, with the printing targeted for August.
  • Mike will be drafting a President’s letter. George would also like to get a Playground write-up from Collette and an Education Program summary from Debbie. We should also have something on Teacher Grants, Township Family Support, and Future Events. Anne volunteered to write something about Teacher Grants.
  • Anne also suggested we ask for a piece from Judy Burd and/or one of the principals, commenting on LTEF work that has impacted the schools. George will pursue that idea.

 

 

•VI.              New Business - Mike Walsh

  • Mike had received a letter from Kean University along with a $700 check for the Doran Children Trust Fund. A professor and several students had held a cake sale to raise the funds. We have learned that Ellen Doran had been working towards a Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology, and that Kean University will be awarding her with a posthumous degree. Mike asked the group if we should pass this information onto the community, and what is the best way to do this? He will talk to Isabel Tabor, who is in touch with the family and can talk to them before we take further steps.

 

 Prepared by Anne Mankiewich - 4/14/10


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